That escalated quickly. Connor McDavid, the diplomatic star who almost always lets his play do the talking, blew off steam after the Oilers’ 6-5 loss to the Flyers on Thursday night and sparked a rare war of words.

The Toronto Raptors have evolved to the point where in close games, they can pull away and beat most teams beneath them in the standings. The Minnesota Timberwolves, despite their young talent, are nowhere near that level yet and the Raptors understand from experience how much time it takes to grow in the NBA.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is playing a fascinating game right now. He has players that want to go to the Olympics and owners that don’t. TSN's Gary Lawless explains from the Board of Governors' meetings that we have finally seen Bettman’s end game on international participation.